Event lowdown: Youth Cultural Exchange Program

On December 17 and 18, CHP invited more than 20 Chinese and overseas students to participate in our Youth Cultural Exchange Program, sponsored by the UNESCO, to promote cultural diversity and engage a dialog in cultural heritage protection. The two-day event took place in Old Beijing historic areas – Nanluoguxiang and the Drum and Bell Tower neighborhoods. The event included a discussion about the city of Old Beijing, a visit to a courtyard in Ju’er Hutong and the famous Keyuan garden in Mao’er Hutong.

During this event, participants also learned more about architectural details of Beijing’s traditional courtyards from the owner of the famous Courtyard No. 7 in Nanluoguxiang. They also witnessed the positive impact of proper courtyard restoration when visiting a siheyuan in Ju’er Hutong, in which the restoration project was launched in 1989 by Wu Liangyong, a famous Tsinghua University professor. The visit to Keyuan Garden was a vivid reminder to the inevitable demolition threat prevalent in modern day China and the importance of cultural heritage preservation effort to keep these relics alive. Participants also spent time at Beijing’s Ancient Object Museum, where daily-used objects from the past to present were showcased.

The event ended with a creative painting session of a courtyard gate miniature and a wrap-up presentation on cultural diversity. At the end of the second day, participants shared their program experiences and reflected their deeper impression of cultural heritage preservation with the crowd, before walking away with a better understanding of the issue.

CHP sincerely thank the Courtyard 7, CHP partner, for its support by providing venue and catering services. We also thank Lin Xiaoxiao, Ma Chenqu, and Niu Junjun for volunteering their time at the event. Finally, we thank the UNESCO for making this event possible.